Full moon craziness!
The effects of this second full moon in October began about a week ago when I finally had the vet out for Willow the horse and Chewy the pony.
In order to get the blood work to read Chewy's levels and be able to see if his treatment for Cushing's Disease is working, he had to be fasted from the night before.
The vet was scheduled to come up by 9 a.m. to get the blood draw so that Chewy could come off of his fasting.
Willow was getting a check up because I had questions about her senior diet and a lump that she has on her back right hip. In the end, I learned nothing new for Willow. If you are interested to hear more, please feel free to continue reading.
I took a day off from work to make sure that this went smoothly without feeling stressed or rushed.
I had also planned on making several various appointments if I could. Trevor (18) needed to have two fillings completed in his teeth. Blake (15) needs to see a dermatologist for acne issues because his regular provider recommended it.
Megan (11) needs blood work done to check her iron levels because she is low. Am I giving away personal information? Yes. But my kids are okay with it. This is life. There are no secrets here.
However, due to the coronavirus, I was unable to work out a day to fill in as many appointments as I could, like I used to do, so it was down to the vet in the morning and Trevor's fillings in the afternoon. Thankfully Trevor is older and much more independent now. He drove himself so I really didn't have to worry much about his appointment. (This is a new feeling to me as a mother)!
So...The vet finally arrived but came alone. Usually there is an assistant with them and right away I thought that was unusual.
I was bundled up with tights under my jeans and several clothing layers, a stocking hat, and solid gloves because the temperature that morning was 28 degrees, with wind.
I know myself well enough to know that I am always cold so I definitely needed to bundle. I wondered how this young woman vet was going to fare in the cold because she did not looked dressed for the part and I even asked her if she needed some gloves.
She politely declined because it would be hard to do the blood work with gloves on, so she grabbed her gear and I showed her to Chewy's stall.
With no bones about it, I must say, Chewy would have none of it! He wanted nothing to do with this vet, her hand held supplies kit, or her needle in his neck. He became a little rodeo pony before my very eyes.
(I have to say, I was kinda proud because he's usually such a delicate little dude that he gets walked all over by all the other animals, so this was an interesting side of him to see)!
He mostly just moved away or shook his head and mane around. The biggest thing that he did was rear up on his hind legs.
Now, I know Chewy well enough to know how silly he was being because it takes so much thought and effort for him to make these motions that, if you are an avid horse person, you can see what he's planning well in advance.
It was so silly when he finally did managed to rear up a little, that it was almost cute. But oh no...he's dangerous! (Wink) He could have tried biting, but he truly is a gentle soul and would never want to resort to that.
After several attempts at this, we decided to give Chewy a sedative and let him chill out a bit while we went to look over Willow.
I was not happy about using a sedative because I feel that should not be necessary for Chewy, but the vet was already there and I figured it would be a better alternative than making him go through this again at a later date.
Willow did fine. The vet looked over what her feeding regimen is and the lump that I was concerned about (and still am), but the vet decided all was well with Willow.
She measured Willow with tape to get an estimate of her weight and came up with 1600 pounds. Travis and I both say she is closer to 1300 but...close enough.
I was surprised that the vet was not concerned with the large lump that has been there for at least a few months, but she did say if my concern or the lump grows, the first step to take would be to have an ultrasound.
Willow was thankfully well behaved. She was also able to eat so that made all the difference for her.
Back to Chewy who was still upset and not afraid to show it! He tried to escape his stall through a small opening by his water bucket, however, he did stand still at one point when the vet had the needle in his neck, but for some reason, no blood was flowing.
He even stood still while she shaved a patch to get to the vein better, but he did NOT stand still when she moved the needle under the surface of his skin, looking for the vein. (Praise God it was not Willow whom she tried that with! That's all I'm going to say about that).
That is when I called it quits and said we are going to have to attempt this another time. I simply could not watch him suffer through it anymore. The last time Chewy had a blood draw, which was also the first time, we hauled Chewy to the vet, the vet got his blood sample, and we hauled Chewy home to eat. THE END.
I don't know what it was about this time around, but it did not work! It was super stressful and the vet was frozen by the time we called it quits.
Moral of the story is, now I have to haul Chewy in again and have him endure this all over, again. I am not paying the bill until this gets completed because the vet doesn't realize that I fundraised for this and took time off for this.
I also think there was a decent pause from Chewy when the needle was inserted where it should have worked. If it was too cold to get a blood draw, they should have told me that before the vote drove up here.
It just is what it is.
I have been making amends with Chewy ever since. All of the trust I built with him was pretty much gone in one morning.
I will be better prepared for his ability to act out when he has to go through this again but please, please say a prayer for Chewy that this goes well!
We are doing this blood work because it is a necessary step to get more medication for him and to ensure his kidneys and system can handle the medications.
If it does not at some point, we will need to take a step back and ask ourselves if we are causing Chewy more suffering by continuing, and if it is not working, is he still living his best life? Currently Chewy seems well, content, and is loving his herd mates and home.
I am sure it has been years since he has felt as good as he does now.
I will once again share an update of how this goes when we get the blood work actually completed. When I called to reschedule,
I was told that the blood draw needs to be done on a week day to be sent off immediately so I would need to take more time off work, but I was also told in a message by the vet who saw Chewy, that if I hauled him in on a weekend, they could freeze the sample and send it in and that would be acceptable.
So...I haven't figured out which it is yet.
Thank you for reading this far, for following along, and for supporting me in this crazy animal rescue/sanctuary journey!
My life is not complete without innocent animals in it, and if I have the means to help a few livestock/larger animals such as Chewy and Willow, then by golly, I will!
Not everyone can but I know many people that would if they could, so I feel extremely blessed to be able to follow through for God's creatures every day of my life.
Feel free to follow along with us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Have a happy November and stay positive through this election season.
"May the odds be ever in your favor".
Much Love From,
Amy Darr
3 Corners Farm
Mosier Or., U.S.A.
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